The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album, Boy (1980). Subsequent work such as their first UK number-one album, War (1983), and the singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. By the mid-1980s, they had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. The group's fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international superstars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
Facing creative stagnation and a backlash following their documentary/double album, Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s through a new musical direction and public image. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and the multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour, the band integrated influences from alternative rock, electronic dance music, and industrial music into their sound, and embraced a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued through their ninth album, Pop (1997), and the PopMart Tour, which were mixed successes. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which established a more conventional, mainstream sound for the group. Their U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history. The group's thirteenth album, Songs of Innocence (2014), was released at no cost through the iTunes Store, but received criticism for its automatic placement in users' music libraries.
U2 has released 14 studio albums and is one of the world's best-selling music artists in history, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes, including Amnesty International, Jubilee 2000, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, War Child, and Music Rising.
Foundation: The band originally formed in 1976 when Larry Mullen posted a bulletin in his school asking for musicians to form a rock band. The band then consisted of the four current members plus three additional guitarists, including The Edge’s brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldn’t play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldn’t sing. He was, however, incredibly enthusiastic about the band, extremely charismatic, a great writer, and was strangely able to reach the audience when the band played, something he is known for still today. Bono will reach out into the crowd and dance or mess with someone in the crowd at every concert. He was kept as a member. The extra guitarists would soon leave the band and the group would go through the names “Feedback ” and “The Hype” before finally settling on U2.
The 70s & 80s: 1978 was a jumping point year for the band, finally finding their sound / voice. U2 won a talent contest in 1978: £500 and funds to make a record. Paul McGuinness became the band’s manager and U2 released an EP called Three and the single Another Day, the following year. U2 went on to release their first album, Boy and then more critically acclaimed albums incl.: October, War, Under A Blood Red Sky, and The Unforgettable Fire (featuring the song PlayMLK dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr). Seen by many as a political band with more charisma than others, they were called “a different kind” of band. After a short break U2 returned with The Joshua Tree & the USA music inspired Rattle And Hum (also a movie of the same name, based on the tour).
The 90s: Promising ”to dream it all up again”, they added industrial and dance styles to their music. Trying to drop a goody two shoes image, they went to Berlin (Germany), supposedly to develop new self-expressions. From there they started to make fun of themselves and had a good time of it in albums like Achtung Baby (meaning ”watch out, baby”, artwork feat. make-up artist Nassim Khalifa) & Zooropa. Bono took on many stage personae such as “The Fly”, “Mirrorball Man” and “Mr. MacPhisto” for the gigantic ZOO TV Tour. Later they continued to make fun of Pop culture and all its extremes with the album Pop and consequent PopMart tour which was announced to be launched at a Kmart store and included a giant golden arch across the stage.
The 00s: At the end of the 90’s into 00’s U2 became less image and more reality. With the death of Bono’s good friend Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of INXS, Bono wrote more songs from the heart surrounding ideas like life and death, children, hope, and the real world past all the pop culture and TV. Some say they’ve returned to a more band-centric sound with albums like All That You Can’t Leave Behind which features a song, Kite, dedicated to Bono’s father who passed away shortly after the album’s conception and 2004’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
The 10s: U2 went on the U2 360° Tour in 2009 and 2010. This tour set records for the highest-grossing concert tour. The band worked with producer Danger Mouse for their thirteenth album Songs of Innocence, which was released on 9 September 2014 for free to all Apple iCloud users.
The Name: There are many theories as to the origin of the name U2. For example, U2 was an intelligence airplane that was in use by the United States during the Cold War. Other obvious candidates include “You too” and “You two”, etc. Nonetheless the official line on the name’s origins remains unknown. The band has been quoted as saying that they did think of the U2 spy plane, but remain hushed about other reasons… U2
Silver and Gold
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Praying hands hold me down
Only the hunter was hunted
In this tin can town
Tin can town
No stars in the black night
Looks like the sky fell down
Looks like it's chained to the ground
Chained to the ground
The warden said
The exit is sold
If you want a way out
Silver and gold
Broken back to the ceiling
Broken nose to the floor
I scream at the silence, it's crawling
It crawls under the door
There's a rope around my neck
And there's a trigger in your gun
Jesus say something
I am someone, I am someone
I am someone
Captain and kings
In the ships hold
They came to collect
Silver and gold
Silver and gold
Seen the coming and going
Seen them captains and the kings
See them navy blue uniforms
See them bright and shiny things
Bright shiny things
The temperature is rising
The fever white hot
Mister, I ain't got nothing
But it's more than you got
Chains no longer bind me
Not the shackles at my feet
Outside are the prisoners
Inside the free
Set them free
Set them free
A prize fighter in a corner is told
Hit where it hurts
Silver and gold
Silver and gold
Yep, silver and gold
This song was written in a hotel room in New York city
'Round about the time a friend or ours, little Steven,
Was putting together a record of artists against apartheid
This is a song written about a man
In a shanty town outside of Johannesburg
A man who's sick of looking down
The barrel of white South Africa
A man who is at the point
Where he is ready to take up arms against his oppressor
A man who has lost faith in the peacemakers of the west
While they argue and while they fail to support a man
Like bishop Tutu and his request for economic sanctions
Against South Africa
Am I buggin' you, I don't mean to bug ya
Okay Edge, play the blues
The lyrics of U2’s Silver and Gold describe a man in a shanty town outside of Johannesburg who is sick of looking down the barrel of white South Africa and is ready to take up arms against his oppressor. The song begins with an image of the singer trapped in a tin can town, with a shotgun and praying hands holding him down. He is in despair, surrounded by darkness with no hope in sight. The warden says the exit is sold, so his only chance of escape is through acquiring silver and gold.
Through the song, the singer’s voice gets stronger, and he screams at the silence that crawls under the door as he tries to break free. He has heard of the captains and the kings who come to collect silver and gold and wants no part in their corrupt dealings. Though he is beaten down, the temperature is rising, and he is ready to fight, even if he has nothing to lose. Ultimately, he manages to break free of his chains and inspires others to do the same.
The song is infused with themes of oppression, power, and resistance. It is a call to action against the injustice and brutality of apartheid, a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination that existed in South Africa from 1948 to the 1990s. The song was included in U2's album Rattle and Hum, which was released in 1988, around the same time that their friend and fellow musician Little Steven was putting together a record of artists against apartheid.
Line by Line Meaning
In the shit house a shotgun
A man in a vulnerable position and a weapon nearby
Praying hands hold me down
Feeling trapped and powerless
Only the hunter was hunted
The tables have turned
In this tin can town
A place with little hope or opportunity
No stars in the black night
The future looks bleak
Looks like the sky fell down
Everything has gone wrong
No sun in the daylight
No hope for a better future
Looks like it's chained to the ground
Unable to progress
The warden said
Authority figure speaking
The exit is sold
No easy way out
If you want a way out
The only option is money
Silver and gold
The only solution
Broken back to the ceiling
In a state of despair
Broken nose to the floor
In a physical altercation
I scream at the silence, it's crawling
Overwhelmed by the emptiness
It crawls under the door
The feeling is inescapable
There's a rope around my neck
Facing imminent danger
And there's a trigger in your gun
Threatened by someone else's action
Jesus say something
Desperate for help
I am someone, I am someone
Asserting identity and humanity
Captain and kings
Those in power
In the ships hold
On a voyage of exploitation
They came to collect
Taking what they can get
Seen the coming and going
Frustrated with the cycle of oppression
Seen them captains and the kings
Those responsible for the status quo
See them navy blue uniforms
The enforcers of an unjust system
See them bright and shiny things
The material wealth of those in power
The temperature is rising
Tension is mounting
The fever white hot
Intensity and passion
Mister, I ain't got nothing
Disenfranchised and forgotten
But it's more than you got
Having a sense of self-worth
Chains no longer bind me
Breaking free from oppression
Not the shackles at my feet
Freed from physical confinement
Outside are the prisoners
The oppressed are everywhere
Inside the free
Freedom is a state of mind
Set them free
A call to action
A prize fighter in a corner is told
The powerless are given impossible expectations
Hit where it hurts
Trying to fight back with limited options
Yep, silver and gold
Reinforcing the theme of desperation
This song was written in a hotel room in New York city
Contextual information
'Round about the time a friend or ours, little Steven,
More context
Was putting together a record of artists against apartheid
Even more context
This is a song written about a man
The inspiration
In a shanty town outside of Johannesburg
The setting
A man who's sick of looking down
A sense of hopelessness
The barrel of white South Africa
The source of oppression
A man who is at the point
A breaking point
Where he is ready to take up arms against his oppressor
A call to action
A man who has lost faith in the peacemakers of the west
A critique of the inaction of Western nations
While they argue and while they fail to support a man
A continued critique
Like bishop Tutu and his request for economic sanctions
A specific example of failed action
Am I buggin' you, I don't mean to bug ya
The awareness of being a nuisance
Okay Edge, play the blues
The request for a change of tone
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
A me
on eleven o' clock tick tock
And girls can make children but not like this one...so will just have to walk around with a painted face then...
LMewdowlark
on One
Baby, baby, baby, I know I'm not alone
Ha, ha, ha
Oh, it's not a hill it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
You see, for me, I've been shouting
Let's shout into the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light
You know we're gonna go crazy, you know we'll go crazy
You know we'll go crazy, if we don't go crazy tonight
Oh, slowly
Oh
Hold me slow
Again, these are the wrong lyrics. They are not the lyrics for 'One' but a different song. I pasted the correct lyrics in my other comment.
LMewdowlark
on One
And there's a part of you that wants me to riot
Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit
Every sweet-tooth needs just a little hit
Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot
How can you stand next to the truth and not see it?
Oh, change of heart comes slow
It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
Do you believe me or are you doubting?
We're gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight
Every generation gets a chance to change the world
Pity the nation that won't listen to you boys and girls
Is the sweetest melody the one we haven't heard?
Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear?
The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear
Oh, but change of heart comes slow
It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
You see, for me, I've been shouting
But we're gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame?
You say, one love, one life
When it's one need in the night
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it
Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well, it's too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus?
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much? More than a lot
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got
We're one but we're not the same
Well, we hurt each other then we do it again
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holdin' on to what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love, one blood
One life, you got to do what you should
One life with each other
Sisters, brothers
One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
One